Yobs who spit in public can now be prosecuted for littering after a council won a landmark legal ruling.

In a test case, two men failed in their challenge of a local authority policy to impose £80 on-the-spot fines on them.

Magistrates upheld the council’s decision that spitting could be prosecuted under anti-litter legislation – giving a green light for other councils to follow suit.

Khasheem Kiah Thomas (pictured moments after the offence), 18, of Hackney, east London, and Zilvinus Vitkas, of Ilford, Essex, were each ordered to pay a £160 fine, legal costs of £120 and a victim surcharge of £20

The men were ordered to pay £300 each including double their original fines and legal costs.

The
landmark case means Waltham Forest in North East London has become
the first council in the country to successfully prosecute for spitting
in public.

The authority has
vowed to eradicate the habit as ‘disgusting and unacceptable’ after
receiving complaints from residents who said it was anti-social.

‘There
has been a groundswell of support for the fixed penalty notices. Our
residents see them as quick, immediate justice and we’ve been contacted
by people all around Britain who want their councils to take action too.

‘Now we have tested this in the courts, we’re pretty sure other councils will follow suit.’

HOW SPITTING BECAME ILLEGAL

It has been a long road to try and make spitting illegal.

Other councils have applied to the secretary of state for a bylaw banning spitting or making it illegal.

But
because their requests have been ongoing for more than three years and
still have not come to fruition, Waltham Forest Council decided to use
their own powers to fine people for littering and extend the littering
offenses to include spitting.

Their
powers are under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 Section 87 EPA
that 'makes it an offence to throw down/drop or deposit litter and then
leave it'.

A Waltham
Forest Council spokesperson explained that there is no statutory
definition of what 'litter' is, but it is commonly assumed to include
materials associated with smoking, eating and drinking, improperly
discarded and left by members of the public, or spilt and left during
business operations and waste management operations.

This came into force in February and many people have already paid the fine of £80.

This court case is the first time the council has prosecuted someone for not paying a fine for spitting.

But Thomas’s grandmother said it was ridiculous to fine and prosecute her grandson for spitting when ‘everyone does it’.

Patricia Thomas, 57, said: ‘You pick out a child of that age for spitting yet everyone does it.‘I
personally think it is a disgusting thing to do, but I do see children
and adults of all nationalities, young and old, spitting.

‘That should mean everybody should get a fine.’

She said she had seen her grandson ‘spitting out’ but added: ‘I think on that day it was just sad that he got spotted.’

Mrs
Thomas, originally from St Lucia in the West Indies, said the teenager
was ‘a good child’ but was currently in Feltham Prison and Young
Offenders’ Institution awaiting sentencing for robbery.

She
showed the Daily Mail his court summons for spitting, which included a
picture of him being questioned by a Police Community Support Officer
and a photograph of the offending saliva.

Mrs
Thomas described the £300 fine and legal costs as ‘a bit harsh’ and
said her grandson, a student, would not be able to pay it.

Moves
to tackle spitting have won support from ministers. Local Government
minister Brandon Lewis said: ‘Spitting is a deeply anti-social and
unpleasant practice.

‘Spitting on Britain’s streets should be as socially unacceptable as dropping litter.’

Communities
Secretary Eric Pickles has backed Enfield Council who want to pass a
bylaw banning the habit, saying: ‘Spitting on Britain’s streets is not
socially acceptable.’

Councils
raise around £5.5million a year handing out more than 73,500 litter
fines but critics fear that town hall bosses want to extend powers for
on-the-spot fines to boost dwindling coffers.